Deadly heat waves like the one now broiling the American West are bigger killers than previously thought and they are going to grow more frequent, according to a new comprehensive study of fatal heat conditions.

By zapping a piece of aluminum with the world's most powerful x-ray laser, physicists have heated matter to 3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit (2 million degrees Celsius)--making it briefly the hottest thing on Earth.
Only locations such as the heart of the

Skeptics who argue that global warming is caused by cosmic rays rather than man-made greenhouse gases have been dealt another blow. Some who question the human-induced global warming scenario argue that changes in the intensity of these rays, which are ca

The moss, Physcomitrella patens, similar to primitive plants that grew 450 million years ago, can withstand extreme temperatures and dry conditions. The sequencing project will allow scientists to identify genes that control these beneficial traits.